Deland man sentenced to five years in toddler's death

DELAND (AP) -- A central Florida man was sentenced to five years in prison for the beating death of his girlfriend's 23-month-old son.

Timothy Ceglarek, 24, of Deland, pleaded guilty in February to aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.

Volusia Circuit Judge S. James Foxman sentenced him Wednesday to the maximum allowed by the plea agreement.

Ceglarek was alone with Dany Zaire Lopez for an hour Oct. 3, 2001, investigators said. The boy's mother, Pamela Lopez, found her son lethargic, suffering from stomach pains and with a bite mark on his leg, something Ceglarek said was inflicted in an effort to make the child laugh, according to an arrest report.

An Orange-Osceola County medical examiner originally said Dany Lopez's death was accidental, but Volusia County investigators later determined the child died as a result of abuse. The accidental death determination sparked a controversy that, in part, led to medical examiner Dr. Shashi Gore's decision to retire.